Three IPL teams who can target Shakib Al Hasan
Subramaniam ThiluxanDesk Reporter
Posted - 2021-01-22T16:09:18+06:00
Updated - 2021-01-23T18:40:21+06:00
The official proceedings for the next edition of the Indian Premier League have started already and now the last-minute release and trade of players are happening at the moment. All the franchises revealed that who are the players they have retained and released.
Even though it is a mini-auction, the excitement will be the peak for that too. There are some big names like Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Aaron Finch in the set of released players. At the same time, there are some who were not a part of the previous season like Shakib Al Hasan, Sam Billings, Dawid Malan, in the contention for some huge bids.
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is one of the worthy picks in the overseas quota. The left-handed batsman played 63 games and he has 746 runs and 59 wickets under his belt. His recent form is another added advantage. Let's have a look at three franchises, where the southpaw batsman can be handier.
1. Kings XI Punjab
Kings XI Punjab can be said as the franchise that always puts itself more active in every IPL auctions. They always lack consistency with the players as most of the players won't stay in the franchise for more than two-three years.
This time too, they have the biggest purse amount, which is around 53 Crs INR. Surely they will play some games in the auction. With this purse amount, they have the luxury to go as long as possible at any players in the auctions. Also, they released Glenn Maxwell, Jimmy Neesham, and Sheldon Cottrell in the list of overseas stars.
So the team will be in a hunt for a genuine overseas all-rounder who can occupy the slot of Glenn Maxwell. Shakib Al Hasan will be worth a pick in that slot. KXIP have a terrific top order in the likes of Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, and Chris Gayle. Someone like Shakib at no.4 who can carry the innings till the end will be handy.
Like Kings XI Punjab, Royal Challengers Bangalore led by Virat Kohli also released a bunch of players ahead of the auction. They released around 10 players from their setup. RCB also released some big names like Chris Morris.
One of the most common problems for RCB in every season is the lack of strong middle-order batsmen. The batting lineup heavily relies on Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. The team badly needs someone who can play gritty innings in the middle and death overs.
In the list of available players, Steve Smith and Shakib Al Hasan suit the need more comfortably. The Bangladesh all-rounder can come in at no.5 and that will boost the batting lineup. Also, the handy left-arm off-spin will be an added advantage. His addition will strengthen RCB with both bat and ball.
The last time runner up Delhi Capitals have a significant amount of work to do prior to this year's edition. During the latter half of the last season, their batting lineup was heavily exposed.
Though the team has Marcus Stoinis, they need another overseas player who can deliver consistently. Already Delhi Capitals released Daniel Sams and Alex Carrey. So they will definitely go for someone who can give them the consistency.
Shakib Al Hasan will be a good choice for them to play in the middle order. Even they can consider him ahead of Shimron Hetmyer. With the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra, the all-rounder's spin will be a bonus for the franchise. Moreover, the Delhi conditions will be idle to play three spinners in the XI.